The Best Hockey Skates for The Money

The best hockey skate is typically due to personal preference, but if the skate generally doesn’t have good reviews, it may not be one you want to look at purchasing. However, if you’re overwhelmed and unsure of what type of hockey skate to purchase, we’ve got your back. In this article, we’ll discuss factors to consider before buying a hockey skate, as well as the best hockey skate for your personal needs and desires.

Factors to Consider before Buying a Hockey Skate

One thing to look at before buying a hockey skate is if the blade is replaceable. If you’re no stranger to hockey, you know that the skate must be sharpened to perfection in order to have a seamless glide. When one can’t be replaced, you’re basically throwing money on a disposable pair – that is, unless you have a sharpening tool. Even so, you’ll eventually wear them down too much.

If you’re buying for a child, you shouldn’t shoot for something that’s higher end, as kids grow out of shows fairly quickly – especially those who are still finding their play style.

Always pay attention to the width of your heels and ankles, the width of the front of your feet in the toe area, as well as the thickness of your foot.

Determine whether you want inline skates or ice hockey skates

What sets inline skates and hockey skates apart? – Simple, while they’re built in a similar fashion, inline skates are created with wheels, while ice hockey skates do not run on wheels. Typically, they have a holder and a runner. While some are interchangeable, depending on the price point you’re searching at, skating on the different surfaces are vastly different and not as similar as you may think. With inline skates, the chassis is typically attached to the boot of the skate.

At the end of the day, you should always consider the following on your best hockey skate checklist: width, arch, play style, weight, shoe size, and more. Without, you won’t be able to pinpoint the perfect hockey skate for your game. In doing so, you could throw off your game entirely.

Tips on How to Choose the Best Hockey Skate

Of course, the playing style you prefer will also help determine what type of hockey skates you will buy. Those who play more defensive may be looking for other qualities. A traditional fit typically works best for this playing style, but for those who are on the more aggressive side, you’ll need the best hockey skate for successfully keeping you on your toes. The straight-forward pitch near the ankles will allow the aggressive player to bend more at the knee. In doing so, they can remain aggressive successfully.

As for pricing, you’ll want to learn if your money is well-spent or not.

Cheap skates – Typically under the $100 mark, cheap skates are for those who play very casually – not those who play regularly in a recreation or professional manner.

Average skates – Average skates range from $150 to upwards of $400. If you play recreational hockey pretty regularly and want to deliver a stern beatdown, average skates will suffice. Dependnig on the brand and style of hockey skate, the results will vary. The average style of skates will be sufficient enough for many players.

High-end skates – High-end skates typically cost upwards of $800 and are fantastic for competitive or highly skilled players. In general, these types of hockey skates are much stiffer than others, and not as heavy. They typically have all types of features on them because of their price point. Those who have a heavy foot or play hockey A LOT, these are the types of skates you should be going after. Higher end skates typically come with outdoor and indoor skating capabilities, whereas lower end ones have a designated environmental purpose.

The Stiffness of Your Skates – We briefly mentioned the stiffness of the skate in the higher end section of the price point. It’s imperative to note that the skill level of the person wearing the skates will determine how stiff of a skate the player will need to purchase. The more skilled they are, the more stiff their skate will be, as they need more precise control. You may be automatically thinking, “oh, well I’m pretty skilled, so I’ll go with the stiffest I can find.” Stiff skates are no joke and take seriously skill and dedication to maneuver the transfer of motion.

Stiff skates typically take more time to break in on the ice and can take upwards of 15 straight hours of playing hockey to fully break-in. However, the heavier you are, the more stiff your skate will need to be. The aforementioned is largely due to the weight distribution and transferring of motion and weight. A flimsy skate will not provide good support and movement for someone who is rather heavy.

If you’re someone who decided to buy stiff skates anyway, but you don’t play much, it may take you months to break-in the pair of skates. By this time, you may already be fed up with the skate and looking elsewhere. With the above tips, you won’t have to waste your money if you know how to purchase the best hockey skate for you.

Last but not least, you should always know your foot type – especially the shape. If you need something that’s wide width, or very specifically narrow-width, you’ll want to pay attention to this with your hockey skate. If you have one or the other with normal shoes, this will typically transfer to hockey shoes. It’s important to note that the actual size of your foot will not directly transfer to the hockey skate, as you’ll see that they run large when you use your normal foot size.

Of course, you’ll want to try various brands if you find that the first doesn’t work well for you. Not every hockey skate brand will be perfect for you, and experimenting will bring you sufficient results.

Best Hockey Skate Reviews

The Vapor X500 SR Skate

Manufactured by world-renowned Bauer, the Vapor X500 Sr Skate is attractive in style. Beyond being attractive in appearance, the overall style of the skate is attractive, as well. Features that the Vapor X500 boasts include the following:

Easy to break-in

Lightweight and comfortable

Durable

Awesome intermediate skate

Breakdown of the Features

While there aren’t too many bells and whistles, this straight-forward pair of skates will bring you comfortability, durability, and a striking performance. Being easy to break-in, especially an intermediate skate, this allows you to enjoy the game much quicker with little to no recovery time at all. Beyond this, their lightweight aspect allows the player to glide as if they’re actually flying. The composition of the skate may be lightweight, but it’s much more durable than one may think. Speaking of lightweight, the weight of the shoe provides a faster speed than many other skates on the consumer market. Conforming to the shape of your feet, the performance and fit provided for the price is something that some may think they only can experience in dreams.

The Advantages

A primary advantage of this pair of skates is their sizing. Instead of coming in just one style and size for that style, the Vapor X500 SR Skate by Bauer provides styles D and EE in the sizes 6-12 for both. Having this versatility allows more people to enjoy the performance of this skate. Another advantage to this pair of skates is that they are lightweight. For those who want to glide and need something that allows them to move seamlessly, this pair of skates is perfect for you.

The Disadvantages

While there’s a lot in the appearance of the Vapor X500 pair of skates, it doesn’t come with too many features. It slightly seems as if the physically, non-performance design received all of the attention. However, this isn’t to say that the performance of the skate isn’t great, as it has received praise. Another disadvantage of this pair of skates is that they do not come sharpened. However, this is something that’s common with mostly any hockey skate as skate owners like to sharpen to their liking, as well as shipping issues when sharpened too much. If you’re someone who is quite familiar with hockey and purchasing your own gear, this shouldn’t both you too much, and it doesn’t affect the performance of the skates, either.

Bauer Supreme 170 Ice Skates

Another fantastic skate manufactured by Bauer, the Supreme 170 Ice Skates will have you hit the ice in a more dominant manner than ever before. At a fantastic price and a pretty normal aesthetic, features of the Supreme 170 pair include the following:

Stainless steel runners

Lightspeed blade holder

Mesh quarter package

Anaform fit foam ankle pads

Breakdown of the Features

The composition of the stainless streel runners (Tuuk Super Stainless Steel), along with the lightspeed edge blade holder (also by Tuuk) allows for increased precision on tight turns, as well as height. As we mentioned, those that offer a replaceable aspect are a pair worth purchasing – the Bauer Supreme is a pair of skates that allows for the removal and replacement of the blade in the future. The mesh quarter package allows ensures that you’re going to be putting your foot into a heavy of comfortability and sturdiness. Lastly, the Anaform Fit foam ankle pads allow your ankles to feel in place and secure without feeling wobbly or unstable. The hydrophobic grip liners disable moisture from seeping in and harming your play style.

The Advantages

We think the breakdown of the features took care of most of this for us, but we’d have to say one of the bigger advantages of this pair of skates is that you can replace the runners in the future. Despite being much cheaper than high-end skates, you can customize and keep going with this pair for a long time. The composition of the lightspeed blade holder, stainless steel runners, foam ankle pads, and mesh quarter package allow for the perfect fit and ride while playing. For this pair of skates, there’s little to no break-in period, allowing for more fun on the ice immediately. You won’t have to worry about blistering your feet with this high-quality pair of skates.

The Disadvantages

A huge disadvantage of these skates is the lack of size and style options. Having only the “D” style in three sizes, along with a general style for the fourth size, there isn’t much personalization for potential customers. One last disadvantage is that if you need a heavier skate, you may not be looking towards the Bauer Supreme 170 pair of skates, as they feature a new lightweight design. However, the weight issue doesn’t affect the performance whatsoever, it’s just a personal preference.

Bauer Nexus N8000 Ice Hockey Skates

Another fantastic pair of ice hockey skates manufactured by Bauer, this pair has a slightly different design than others on this list. Attractive in aesthetics and fantastic in performance, the Nexus N8000 boasts quite a few attractive features, including the following:

Lightweight memory foam ankle pads

Great tongue construction, molded metatarsal guard

Form-Fit+ foot bed

Thermoformable upper

Breakdown of the Features

The composition of the shoe in materials and design are fantastic, with quite a few attractive construction features. The aforementioned features include memory foam ankle pads, for maximum comfort while you’re playing, but not too soft for those who like a bit of firmness. The tongue construction includes a tongue that has a metatarsal guard that’s molded with 3-piece felt. However, the Form-Fit+ foot bed features a heel stabilizer for maximum control over your motion on the ice. Having a thermoformable upper allows you for maximum range of movement, without compromising the construction of the shoe and your stability in said shoe.

The Advantages

One of the primary advantages of the Nexus N8000 is that it does have so many sizing options for those who truly need the perfect fit. Ranging from 6.0 to 11.0 in various styles of D and EE. Having a well-done construction (including the molded metatarsal guard) means that you’ll be able thanks to every aspect of the construction. The Form-Fit+ foot bed, along with the thermoformable upper allows for maximum comfortability while playing. While this all may seem redundant, the design of the shoe has features that work well amongst each other.

The Disadvantages

While the sizing options are great, there aren’t as many in the style EE as there are D, but this doesn’t affect the performance of the actual pair of skates, thankfully. There are many advantages and features of this product, yes, but there aren’t many bells and whistles up front. It does have a great composition, which is something to look out, and the performance isn’t affected whatsoever. If you’re looking for something that’s more lightweight, you’ll find solace in knowing this pair of skates exists, however, for those who need something a bit heavier – you may have to look elsewhere. Overall, the performance of this pair of hockey skates is fantastic and not something to bat an eyelash out. While they aren’t on the cheapest end, they are well-worth the purchase.

Bauer TotalOne MX3 Senior Hockey Skates

On the higher end of the ice hockey skate spectrum, this Bauer pair is one for those who skate often, hard, and almost at a professional level. Those who are extremely skilled will want to take a gander at the Bauer TotalOne MX3 Senior Hockey Skates. Features of this pair of skates include the following:

QuickFit foot bed offers proper alignment

Thermoformable foot bed

Tongue Curv Composite inserts

Free-Flex Tendon Guard

Breakdown of the Features

If you’re in the market for a higher end pair of skates, you may already recognize the jargon we’ve listed above. The QuickFit foot bed offers a design that encourages the betterment of the alignment of your body. Powered by Footbalance, this foot bed is one of the best for more skilled players. The thermoformable foot bed allows for the contours of your feet to be perfectly hugged for maximum support. In doing this, you don’t have to worry about the improper fitting of your foot and you can excel vastly in your performance. The Free-Flex tendon guard allows for maximum flexibility, even if you’re not that flexible! Lastly, the composite inserts play into the flexibility and motion of your foot, allowing you to have the perfect fit for your foot with increased motion.

The Advantages

Because of the price tag, the main advantage is the quality of the accessories and features within this pair of ice skates. The composition of the tendon guard, thermorformable foot bed, composite inserts, and the Quickfit addition all allow the proper stability and alignment of the player. You won’t have to worry about hurting your ankles or hurting your posture.

The Disadvantages

For those who play casually and aren’t looking to go professionally, these are great skates, but aimed more towards those who are extremely skilled and looking to go semi-professional, or play daily and consistently. The efficiency of the skate is fantastic and provides a seamless operation for those who know how to navigate this style of ice skate. There aren’t many bad things to say about this skate, as it performs well, but the price is for those who need something on the higher-end, in return, it’s not in the budget of the average, casual hockey player.

Easton Synergy EQ30 Ice Skate

The only pair of ice hockey skates that aren’t manufactured by Bauer, this skate is created by Easton, a high-quality brand that produces inexpensive ice hockey skates. Those who need something high-end and on the pricier end of the spectrum should look elsewhere. Features of the EQ30 include the following:

Inexpensive, great for casual or recreational use

Hyperlite base materials

Moldable for the contours of your foot

Injected tendon launch zones + side-wide launch zones

Felt tongue composition, plush lining

Breakdown of the Features

Fantastic for recreational use, the hyperlite base materials and other materials in the composition of this pair of skates allows for the best fit possible for the price range. Having a moldable feature will allow the contours of your feet to be comfortable, while customizing the shoe to your foot. In doing so, you won’t have to worry about spending hundreds or thousands on a pair catered to you. The injected launch zones allow for comfortability, durability, and precision in how your range of motion performs.

The Advantages

The total composition of the ice skates, including the plush red microfiber lining and white felt tongue allows your feet to be attractive (as odd as that sounds) while being comfortable. Easton is able to provide a shoe that’s not only attractive in design and features, but also attractive inside. With such precision in design and performance, it’s no wonder why this Synergentic pair of ice hockey skates is one of the best on the lower end of the consumer market.

The Disadvantages

There aren’t too many disadvantages if you know what to expect from a lower-end pair of ice hockey skates. If you’re someone who plays extremely frequently and is particularly skilled, you will probably be searching elsewhere for a higher-end pair of skates. However, those who don’t play as often but want something reliable will enjoy this pair of ice hockey skates.

The Final Verdict

We’ve thrown a lot of information at you and you may feel too overwhelmed to make a decision. Thankfully, we can help point you in the right direction if you’re still lost. The winner of this roundup is clearly the Vapor X500 SR Skate. With minimal break-in time and an abundance of durability due to the composition, there’s really no reason to not take a look at this set, as they provide everything you need to dominate the other team.

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